Before starting the band Mindless Self Indulgence, James Euringer launched a solo album in 1995, called Mindless Self-Indulgence, which he had produced by himself and was limited to 500 copies. Contrary to popular belief, this was not an album by the band Mindless Self Indulgence, however, Steve Righ? played guitar for the track "Bed of Roses".
Another large influence in the band's music comes from early 1980s culture. Frequently the music contains samples of early 80's hip-hop or rock, as well as Atari-style beeps and tones. Their second album as a band, 1999's Tight, was even allegedly mixed on Atari equipment. Many of Urine's dress styles consist of the juxtaposition of popular 1980s clothing or bastardized versions thereof.
Later in February 2000, MSI launched the album Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy, featuring 30 tracks that were sorted alphabetically. Kitty (Drummer) designed and ran the official site of MSI when the album came out.
After Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy , Vanessa YT (Bass player) decided to leave MSI to start a family. Her replacement in the band was Lyn-Z (Bass player).
Mindless Self Indulgence is distinguished from mainstream punk, however, by their incorporating lyrics about being gay and related topics into nearly all of their songs - even titling one of their songs Faggot. Also, Euringer and Steve, Righ? (Guitarist) possess wide vocal ranges, stretching from tenor to high falsetto. The band also has no qualms about using words deemed offensive by some, such as nigga (Jimmy Urine argues that he doesn't say the word out of anger, and often it is more or less used in the sense that it is used in the hip-hop world), and faggot heavily in many of their songs. Many critics have used their word choice to dismiss the band as juvenile.
And although this may be the case, with some songs being of a 'juvenile' subject and tone, they also use clever lyrics and stance to give meaning to songs, such as You'll rebel to anything, which is a song that talks about how punk culture is being exploited by misdirected youths as a way to be unique or get noticed.
In keeping with their confrontational posture, Euringer has been arrested for pulling his penis out of his pants and attempting to set his pubic hair on fire, allegedly succeeding on one such occasion. Other notable stage antics include him drinking his own urine, inviting audience members to punch him in the face and/or throw objects at him, making out with both genders during the show, and roaming through the audience after the set blaring hip-hop music from a boom box perched on his shoulder.
The band's energetic live shows have gained them much recognition. The band is known to stay after the show has finished, signing whatever fans want until not one person is left wanting an autograph. They also take photographs with all desiring fans. They have opened for a number of popular bands, including System of a Down, KoRn, Staind, Sum 41, Mushroomhead, Insane Clown Posse, My Chemical Romance, and Rammstein. They have also played many large musical festivals including Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans in October of 2003 (and in Memphis, TN after Hurricane Katrina in 2006), as well as headlining the Mojave tent at the 2004 Coachella Festival, and the main stage of 2007's Give It A Name. They also headlined the second stage of the Projekt Revolution tour in Summer 2007.
Their DVD, called Our Pain, Your Gain, was released on September 11, 2007, featuring one of their concerts in New York.
On 29th April 2008, their 4th studio album, If, was released. The standard edition contains 15 tracks, the deluxe edition has the same tracklist and a bonus DVD. The Clean version has 16 tracks, Uncle being the additional track. The International edition (UK version) has 21 tracks; 3S as bonus track and four Never Wanted To Dance remixes.
On 25th October 2012, they began a Kickstarter to crowdfund their next studio album, which reached its goal by December 24th of that year. Digital downloads for their fifth studio album, How I Learned To Stop Giving A Shit And Love Mindless Self Indulgence, were released on 13 March 2013. There are three different versions of the album, with each including the standard 13-song tracklist as well as bonus tracks. The Kickstarter exclusive downloads include the bonus tracks Angel, I Am Not Here to Make Any Friends, and Last Gay Song. The Kickstarter exclusive digipak CD includes the bonus track Sex for Homework. The tour edition CD includes the bonus track Seven Minutes in Heaven. The Metropolis Records released CD includes the bonus cover, The Logical Song (originally by Supertramp).
After the 2014 tour concluded, Mindless Self Indulgence began a hiatus from touring to spend time with their families. On 18 September 2015, the band released the supposed "lost" album Pink, a 19-song album of remastered versions of the "Pink Demos" from 1990-1997, including covers Personal Jesus (originally by Depeche Mode and Girls On Film (originally by Duran Duran). The album includes redone versions of tracks from the self-titled EP from 1995. It’s also known that there are 31 “lost” tracks from 1990-1997 (“Pink Demos” era), and that 15 of those tracks were added onto Pink, then also implying that there are another 16 “lost” tracks that could be released in future, however chances are slim due to recent events.
Ready for Love
Mindless Self Indulgence Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like you need to be told
My whole sound sucks the stereo
Like you care about us
You want your money back? yo - listen up
No fucking refunds
I'm thinking I shot my load
All the way to the bank
I just bought my car stereo
Use your money for crack
I'm still going broke and I say all this is nothing go down to the record store
Buy all my records
I'm ready for love
[Chorus:]
I'm still not that cool
I'm just not that great
To suckers found out a little too late
You thought that this shit
Would right fucking rock
But your friends were right
Cause I fucking suck
You don't like it so don't buy it
Like you need to be told
My whole sound sucks the stereo
Like you care about us
You want your money back? yo - listen up
No fucking refunds
I'm ready for love
[Chorus]
I'm not that cool
I'm just not that great
To suckers found out a little too late
You thought it'd be good
You thought it might rock
But your friends were right
I suck big cock
The lyrics of Mindless Self Indulgence's song "Ready for Love" are a satirical take on the music industry and the notion of what it means to be a successful artist. At first glance, the lyrics may come across as confrontational and dismissive of the listener's feedback - "If y'all don't like it, just don't buy it / Like you need to be told" - but they reveal a deeper cynicism that underlines the whole song. The singer admits that their "whole sound sucks the stereo," and even goes so far as to suggest that they're "ready for love" despite not being that cool, or great, or talented.
The chorus drives home the point that the listener was, in fact, right to feel disappointed with the song: "You thought that this shit / Would right fucking rock / But your friends were right / Cause I fucking suck." There's an ironic detachment to the way the singer approaches their music, almost as if they're daring the listener to criticize them, while simultaneously acknowledging that their music is pretty mediocre. The final line, "I suck big cock," is especially jarring and unexpected, adding an element of shock to the song's already caustic tone.
Overall, "Ready for Love" is a cynical commentary on the music industry, consumer culture, and the psychology of fame, delivered through Mindless Self Indulgence's signature blend of punk rock, metal, and electronic music.
Line by Line Meaning
If y'all don't like it, just don't buy it
If you’re not interested, you don't have to purchase it
Like you need to be told
As if you didn't already know
My whole sound sucks the stereo
My sound is so incredible it blows out the stereo
Like you care about us
As if anyone actually cares about us
You want your money back? yo - listen up
You are not getting your money back
No fucking refunds
There will be zero refunds given
I'm thinking I shot my load
I expended all my energy and ideas
(Now I ain't get the rapping and sometimes I forget to laugh motherfucker)
(I don't understand rap music and sometimes forget to laugh)
All the way to the bank
I made a lot of money off this
I just bought my car stereo
I upgraded my car sound system with my earnings
Use your money for crack
You shouldn't have spent money on this, buy crack instead
I'm still going broke and I say all this is nothing go down to the record store
Despite all this, I’m still struggling financially, so please go buy my music
Buy all my records
I want you to buy every single one of my albums
I'm ready for love
I am prepared and excited for love
I'm still not that cool
I’m not as cool as people think I am
I'm just not that great
I admit, I’m not a great artist
To suckers found out a little too late
People realized too late that they made a mistake in buying my music
You thought that this shit
You believed this was good music
Would right fucking rock
Would absolutely rock
But your friends were right
Your friends were correct
Cause I fucking suck
Because I’m not a good performer
I suck big cock
I am terribly bad
Lyrics © JAMES IS A GIRL MUSIC C/O CITRIN COOPERMAN, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JAMES EURINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind